You can keep only one component from your system - what would it be?

[pablolie]

The hard drive with the music on. Everything else can be replaced.

Amen!

 

[MattHooper]

However, with that said, I'd also like to comment on that final parenthetical remark in your post: that answers here might be different than those in other audiophile forums.

I agree with you there, and in my case my experience at ASR over the years has made me less attached to any particular piece of gear - not because I don't love and value my gear, but rather because ASR has taught me that the idea of a truly unique-sounding stereo component that produces some kind of synergistic "magic" that I could never replicate with other gear is a myth, and a myth in two different ways: (1) most of the time it's possible to get more or less identical sound with different gear if the gear measures sufficiently well and is set up properly; and (2) even when there are subtle differences, as there will always be with even the best speakers, there's a level of perceived quality beyond which differences are discernible but (at least for me) do not necessarily register as clearly better or worse; they're just subtly different versions of "awesome."

That’s the type of interesting viewpoint I came here for. (And I’ve enjoyed all the responses).

I still clearly have one big foot stuck in the old school Stereophile/Absolute Sound reader approach. A slightly romantic view - ideas of system synergy, of playing with components to arrive at a system which sonically and aesthetically feels somewhat personal or bespoke. I like to have gear that I sort of swoon over. It’s not something I want to let go of because it gives me so much pleasure.
I just have a hard time gathering as much enthusiasm for the idea of putting together a system that is more anonymous in performance and interchangeable.

So I think I could predict lots of the type of answers at a place like Audiogon or SHF. But there is a certain level of analytical detachment here in terms of system building, which made me really curious about how ASR members would approach this question.
Your response got at the heart of this which I appreciate.

 

[xanalog]

Simple... I'd sell everything and anything I am not currently using.

#2

You are officially DQ'd!

 

[tmtomh]

That’s the type of interesting viewpoint I came here for. (And I’ve enjoyed all the responses).

I still clearly have one big foot stuck in the old school Stereophile/Absolute Sound reader approach. A slightly romantic view - ideas of system synergy, of playing with components to arrive at a system which sonically and aesthetically feels somewhat personal or bespoke. I like to have gear that I sort of swoon over. It’s not something I want to let go of because it gives me so much pleasure.
I just have a hard time gathering as much enthusiasm for the idea of putting together a system that is more anonymous in performance and interchangeable.

So I think I could predict lots of the type of answers at a place like Audiogon or SHF. But there is a certain level of analytical detachment here in terms of system building, which made me really curious about how ASR members would approach this question.
Your response got it the heart of this which I appreciate.

I totally understand your point of view, and I think it's just happenstance that my own gear aesthetic is pretty severely minimalistic, My ideal component aesthetically is my disc player: a Sony X800 Blu-Ray/universal unit: solidly built, black, low-profile, clean lines, and zero display or lights, even when it's in operation. Ditto for my speakers: I disabled their green front power-on LEDs as soon as I found out there was a settings option where you could that, and I've always preferred black stand-mounts in a dim room, because it minimizes the massing of the speakers and is the easiest way to make them more or less disappear.

I do enjoy looking at champagne-colored Marantz faceplates, amps and tuners with analogue VU meters, components with wood side panels, polished veneer turntable plinths, and so on... in other people's setups and in online photos. I just don't want that kind of gear in my own setup. So I think that makes it easier for me to have what you call a more "analytical detachment... in terms of system-building." I do get very attached to some of my gear, but it's more based on performance and ease of use than the "swoon factor" (no judgment, just saying).

 

[Sokel]

You are officially DQ'd!

Fair enough, just the DMM then.
What's the point measuring -100dB THD+N if you have DC at the outputs

 

[Bleib]

Would actually be my Denon AVR although it's not "high-end". But it has a lot of features.

(I don't count the harddrives or the PC into this, as the PC is still mainly used for other things)

 

[Talisman]

Since I discovered that with a good AVR I have both home theater, stereo listening, Dirac with advanced correction, multi-sub management etc. etc. now I am certain that if I had to start again from a single component it would be my Denon AVC X3800H

 

[pinger]

I am excluding my server/NAS with all the media on it.... ( as it also stores decades of emails, photos, and other sundry files... both work and home related)
For the rest of the setup, my #1 would definitely be the speakers (Gallo Nucleus Reference 3.2 / AV).... amps, AVR/AVP, all can be replaced (and periodically, have been).... I would have a hard time losing the Revox Linatrack TT... but I very seldom use it any more.

Yeah a hard drive or server etc with music files is the same as a CD collection. Not what the OP (if i may be so bold) was looking for. Not really an audio component

 

[Kagemusha]

I am contemplating of seeling everything and move to a van. So maybe I keep 2 sonos PLAY:1 perhaps. Or I put a better stereo to the van.
I hope my wife follows me

 

[Alannn]

Downloading? Streaming means you don't have to download anything, right?
(I might be confused, as I only use Roon, which just helps manage my own files that I keep in redundant cloud storage and could easily also backup in physical drives in my home.)

I think some streaming services allow users to download songs for playback when they don’t have an internet connection. I’m guessing, based on @Alannn ’s comment, that these local copies are DRM’d in some way that prevents playback of any copies you might make.

I’m just surmising though. I could be mistaken or else misunderstanding what he was trying to say.

Downloading from a streaming service (I use Amazon Music) allows streaming downloaded songs/albums in cars, planes, or in a room with weak wifi.
In my case. I temporarily logged into a friend's Amazon Music account on my phone, and then when I logged back into my account, all downloads were gone. 278 gigs worth. That selection of songs had been fine tuned over several years. Replacement was tedious, not fun like upgrading other audio components.

 

[Alannn]

Yeah a hard drive or server etc with music files is the same as a CD collection. Not what the OP (if i may be so bold) was looking for. Not really an audio component

The server is more like the CD collection and CD player combined.
Every audio system requires four fundamental components: an audio source, amplification (built-in or separate amplifiers), speakers (transducers that create sound waves), and connectivity (cables and signal processing).

 

[Deleted member 89782]

Downloading from a streaming service (I use Amazon Music) allows streaming downloaded songs/albums in cars, planes, or in a room with weak wifi.
In my case. I temporarily logged into a friend's Amazon Music account on my phone, and then when I logged back into my account, all downloads were gone. 278 gigs worth. That selection of songs had been fine tuned over several years. Replacement was tedious, not fun like upgrading other audio components.

Not being cynical, but what do we learn from that?
IF you download, then backup and stay away from proprietary formats.

 

[Alannn]

Not being cynical, but what do we learn from that?
IF you download, then backup and stay away from proprietary formats.

Amazon Music allows streaming and downloading from their selection of 100 million songs for $11/ month. Their propriety encoded format is part of the deal.
Purchasing my 278 gigs of downloaded songs from Amazon Music Digital Music store would avoid the propriety encoded format and allow backup, but at the extra cost of over $1000.

To clarify, after my downloads got lost, having to redownload was not the problem. The method of having to lookup and select thousands of songs one by one is what made these downloads difficult to replace, thus this source material is the component I least want to have to replace. Amazon Music is missing a "redownload all" selection.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Sennheiser HD800

 

[RexrothPigeon]

Downloading from a streaming service (I use Amazon Music) allows streaming downloaded songs/albums in cars, planes, or in a room with weak wifi.

So you can download it but not to your own custody? Yeah, that would be frustrating for sure

 

[MattHooper]

Since I discovered that with a good AVR I have both home theater, stereo listening, Dirac with advanced correction, multi-sub management etc. etc. now I am certain that if I had to start again from a single component it would be my Denon AVC X3800H

That makes sense. Given the variety of functions supplied by a good AVR.

I’ve been a Home theatre fanatic for a long time, but I practically a Luddite in terms of my AVR - I still have the same old Denon AVR doing duty for my home theatre system that I bought in 2009. Since I haven’t updated to Dolby Atmos it still does most of what I need. Except that it does not pass 4K signals. But that’s OK because I use a Lumagen VP for video switching.

My original “ home theatre” beginnings started with my plasma TV that I bought in 2001, and I created a small surround system for it in our back family room. Amazingly enough, that plasma is still going and doing TV duty, despite being almost 25 years old! (so weird to think of that because it seemed so futuristic at the time). Also I bought a very high-end Pioneer AVR for that set up, which was one of the best available at the time.
At one point through the years, it stopped sending signals to the surround speakers.
But I never bothered to follow up and have it fixed because by then I only cared about watching it surrounded in my main home theatre room. But still, about 25 years on and it is still in use, powering the speakers around the plasma.

 

[Esprit]

I think some streaming services allow users to download songs for playback when they don’t have an internet connection.

That's what I do with Tidal (but also with Apple Music) to have high-resolution music everywhere on my iPhone.

 

[xanalog]

For me what sprung to mind is that I would choose to keep my Conrad Johnson Premier 12 tube mono amps.

@MattHooper,
I am that you would choose to keep your CJ and would let loose your JosephAudio speakers!
May I have your small Thiels, please!

 

[posvibes]

I am sort of in the position with which the OP began the discussion, inasmuch as we have just moved house to a much smaller residence. There is no real space for my Hi-Fi, by which I really mean my speakers (or at least most of my speakers).

In the downsizing and moving, there has been little time to listen to music at all, except the occasional half hour or so with my phone and IEM's.

At best I will be able to deploy my trusty JBL305's and a Topping DAC in the commonly shared space, (acoustically challenged as it is).

I see myself more and more in future using a headphone set up.

The most exciting and satisfying time of my life for music was in my early teens, with a Thorn record player and a pair of miserable Thorn speakers. I didn't know they were miserable back then, the word audiophile was not in my vocabulary. An AM transistor radio was enough technology for me to tune in and really dig the music to such an extent that the means of transmission meant sweet FA to me.

These days it doesn't take much technology to get good sound and a good FM table radio would probably suffice.

If I had to take one thing, or be sure I could access it at a new abode, it would be a connection to the internet.

 

[DWPress]

My Okto DAC8-PRO. Not only is it hard to find multi channel DACs like this for home use but it's beautiful and functional. They also keep making it even better with firmware updates.